Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Paul Berenger |
| Founded | September 1969 |
| Headquarters | Route Poudrière, Port Louis |
| Newspaper | Le Militant |
| Ideology | Marxism,Socialism |
| Political position | Left |
| International affiliation | Socialist International |
| National Assembly of Mauritius |  |
| Website | |
| http://www.mmm.mu/ | |
The Mauritian Militant Movement, often shortened to MMM, (French: Mouvement Militant Mauricien) is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party's leader is currently Paul Bérenger.
The MMM is currently the second-largest party in the National Assembly of Mauritius. There are 12 MMM Members of Parliament (MPs), all elected at the 2005 elections.
Promoting socialism, the MMM advocates a fairer, more democratic Mauritian society, free from discrimination due to social class, race, community, caste, religion, gender or sexual orientation. [1]
In 2000 ,the Party formed part of the MSM/MMM alliance which won 57 out 60 seats in the Parliament .The leader Paul Berenger succeeded to Sir Anerood Jugnauth in 2003 after this one acted from 2000 to 2003 .The alliance was led by Berenger from 2003 to 2006 .In the 2005 general elections ,Berenger led the first time the Alliance with him candidate for Prime Minister .They obtained only 24 out of the 70 seats .
Structure
The main body of the MMM[1] is the Central Committee[2] which is elected every two years.
The Political Bureau is chosen by the Central Committee.
The Deputy Party Leader is Jaya Krishna Cuttaree, the President is Ahmud Sulliman Jeewah, and the Secretary-General is Rajesh Bhagawn. However, Jaya Krishna Cuttaree has anounced a possible withdrawal from active politics following the next general elections due by July 2010; he is expected to assume Presidency of the Republic upon victory of MMM in the coming elections. The MMM is one of the most important parties in Mauritius.
History
Founding
The MMM originated in 1968 as a students' movement (Mouvement Etudiants Mauricien) led by Paul Berenger, Dev Virahsawmy and the Jeerubarkhan brothers, Jhoneed and Shaffick, Sushil Kushiram, Tirat Ramkissoon, Krishen Mati, Ah-Ken Wong, Kriti Goburdhun, Vela Vengaroo, and Amedee Darga [2] amongst others. It was in 1969 that it became the Mauritian Militant Movement following the frustrating and disappointing coalition between the Mauritius Labour Government and the main opposition Party at the time, of Gaetan Duval's PMSD.
The party's first participation to an electoral poll in Mauritius was a winning one. A by-election in the Triolet/Pamplemousses constituency was organised in September 1970, following the death of MP Lall Jugnauth. The MMM fielded Dev Virahsawmy as candidate won the contest against the Ptr/PMSD/CAM coalition by more than 5000 votes. The PTr/PMSD/CAM government reacted to the rise of the MMM by voting the Public Order Bill: an anti-democratic bill imposing a state of emergency in order to ban activities organised by the MMM.
"Les annees de braise (1971-1982)"
In October 1971, Fareed Muttur, member of the MMM, died in a car accident near the Réduit round-about in obscure circumstances.[2] One month later, a plot against the leaders of the MMM at the Chasteauneuf street, Curepipe, lead to the death of another activist: a docker called Azor Adélaïde.
The MMM experienced its first schism in 1973, when Dev Virahsawmy left the party to found the MMMSP. The Youth Wing, Jeunesse Militante, is set up with Jean Claude Augustave, Vijay Ram, Raffick Elahee and Amédée Darga amongst many animators. The government, fearing further electoral defeats, repelled general elections and voted for a ban of by-elections.
In 1976, the MMM won 34 of the 70 National Assembly seats, with Labour getting 28 and the PMSD, 8. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam contracted a political alliance with Sir Gaëtan Duval to stop the MMM from forming a government. The MMM formed a strong parliamentary opposition with Sir Anerood Jugnauth as Leader of the Opposition.
The MMM win the municipalities of Port Louis, Beau Bassin/Rose Hill and Vacoas/Phoenix. The first MMM mayors were K. Bhayat (Port Louis), J.C. de l'Estrac (Beau Bassin/Rose Hill) and D. Jhuboolall (Vacoas/Phoenix).
The 1982 60-0 Victory
Using "Enn nouvo simen pou enn nouno lavie" as the party slogan for the 1982 elections, the MMM won all of the 60 contestable seats, together with its partner, the PSM. An MMM-PSM-OPR government was constituted with Sir Anerood Jugnauth as prime minister and Paul Bérenger as Finance Minister. The latter came up with extremely courageous measures devised to rebuild the crumbling economy. The MMM-PSM alliance also won all the five municipalities in the next municipal election. The MMM-MSM government amended the constitution to ensure that general elections are to be conducted at least every five years.
The 1983 trauma
The 22 March 1983 saw the end of the MMM-PSM alliance. The MMM suffered a major schism, and Sir Anerood Jugnauth formed the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) with the dissidents. The MMM, under the leadership of Paul Bérenger, contested the August 1983 election alone. Despite the communal campaign against the MMM and its leader, the party grabbed 19 seats, with 46% of voters supporting the MMM.
Affiliations
The MMM is a member of the Socialist International, an international grouping of socialist, social democratic, and labour parties.
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References
- ^ "Principes du Mouvement Militant Mauricien". 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ a b "Une naissance sous l'etat d'urgence et la repression", Le Militant, p. 8, 25 September
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